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VIFF Coverage: “Les amours imaginaires”
(“Heartbeats”)

Xavier Dolan’s follow-up to 2009’s “J’ai tué ma mére”

 

    

Angela Espinoza

he 2010 Vancouver
International Film Festival

came and went, with showings
happening at various theatres around
Vancouver from September 30 —
October 15. With well over two
hundred films to choose from, it
was difficult to settle on a mere five.
Some were hilarious, some were
heartbreaking, and some were just
horrible.

One film I had planed to see
without question was Les amours
imaginaires (2010), otherwise
known as Heartbeats. The film was
directed by, written by, and starred
Xavier Dolan, a twenty-one-year-old
filmmaker from Quebec. This was his
second project, with his first being
2009's J’ai tué ma mére (I Killed
My Mother). I Killed My Mother
brought Dolan great acclaim, winning
awards left and right last year. While
Heartbeats has yet to garner such
award recognition, like J Killed My
Mother, it was selected for viewing at
the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

The story itself is nothing new; a
love-triangle is formed when two good
friends, Francis (Dolan) and Marie
(Monia Chokri), fall for the same
boy — the twist here is that Francis
is gay. However, the beautiful thing
about having such a simple plot is that
you can do just about anything to it.
We’ re basically watching Dolan paint
something resembling near-perfection
on a blank Cannes-vas (see what I did
there?).

There is no limit to the magic

Stéphanie Anne Weber Brion creates
with her cinematography, achieving
something new with each scene.
Between the multi-tasking Dolan and
Brion’s lighting techniques, it’s easy
to forget that these are two separate
minds that happen to be perfectly in
sync. As the hip film that it is, there
shouldn’t be any surprise that many of
the actors match their talent with their
beauty.

Playing the object of desire in
this film (Nicolas) is Niels Schneider.
Unfortunately (or ironically?), he
looks exactly like Robert Pattinson,
but with golden curls — and the ability
to act. His character is shrouded in
mystery, as are his motives; we can
only see the effect he has on Francis
and Marie.

Throughout the movie, several
characters suddenly appear and
disappear, speaking towards the
camera. Each one has a story of love
and loss; if you’ ve ever experienced a
break up, at some point, this film will
hit you right where it hurts. However,
much of the film carries a strong wit,
with many laugh-out-loud moments.

Heartbeats is a solid dramedy
that slows down for no one. Every
moment in this film is crucial to the
lives of the characters, no matter
how large or small in scale. The song
“Bang Bang”, covered in French by
the late singer and actress Dalidia, is
played constantly in the background.
Heartbeats is just another of many
future examples that Dolan can do
just about anything — even make
marshmallows a tool of manipulation.
4/5

OOOUUt

   
     

 

VIFF Coverage: “When the Devil Knocks”

A heart-wrenching look into the life of Hilary Stanton

By Angela Espinoza,
Arts Reviewer

‘Te aren’t many people I
know who get excited over
seeing a documentary — one
that ‘everyone else’ hasn’t seen
anyway. Most of those documentaries
are often glamorized, and one can
often feel threatened by how one-
sided they are. Their goal is always to
attack something rather than inform
us about it. Luckily, When the Devil
Knocks (2010) fits perfectly into the
latter.

In When the Devil Knocks, we
take a look inside the mind of Hillary
Stanton. There’s no easy way to
explain the multiple traumas she
had to endure. Stanton faced years
of sexual abuse as a child, receiving
little to no support at home. She was
also burdened with the idea that her
being a lesbian was somehow wrong.
Although these weren’t the only
hardships in her life, they were the
central focus of the film.

The result of all this was
Dissociative Identity Disorder
(DID), previously known as Multiple
Personality Disorder. For many
years, Stanton lived day by day
never knowing which of her thirty-
five personalities had taken over (at
one point, Stanton states one took
over for two whole years). Each one
stemmed from a different emotional
aspect, leaving Stanton herself
feeling emotionless for most of her
life. While this made life difficult for
her children, they’ ve stuck by their
mother to this day.

Of the thirty-five personalities,
only five serve as a major focus.
Tim, who is ten, is the personality,
or ‘alter’, that believes Stanton is to
blame for the constant abuse. Mary,
fifteen, is one of the more dominant

alters, who feels no sympathy for
Stanton and wants to take control.
J.D., another young boy, is angry
with Stanton and often forces her to
inflict wounds on herself. Joanie, a
little girl, carries all the memories

of abuse that Stanton had repressed,
and often attempts suicide. Little Hil,
five, is Stanton’s child-like self.

With over forty hours of therapy
sessions caught on tape, director
Helen Slinger sifts through those that
best represent Stanton’s situation.
Some are surprisingly funny, while
others — including the realization of a
horrific memory — are difficult to sit
through. When the Devil Knocks also
takes a look at Stanton’s life since
she ended therapy. One of the scenes
that brought the theatre to tears was
the wedding ceremony between
Stanton and her partner, Debbie. For
reasons none other than love, Debbie
worked with and was able to cope
with each of the alters as Stanton
gradually recovered.

The screening I attended
happened to be the premiere, and
Stanton, Debbie, Slinger, and
Stanton’s remarkable therapist,

Dr. Cheryl Malmo, were all in
attendance. After getting a chance to
speak with Stanton and Slinger, I was
amazed at how humbled they were
by the whole experience. Knowing
someone like Stanton can make such
an amazing recovery and still see
herself as an average person always
breaks my heart. Unfortunately,
there’s no word yet on whether this
film will see a wide release, but

if you ever get the chance, I beg
each of you to see this spectacular
documentary.

5/5

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